Wander Franco saw his 43-game on-base streak come to an end Thursday in Houston, but he began a new one Friday with a two-run single in the top of the ninth inning that proved to be the difference as the Tampa Bay Rays started their final series of the 2021 regular season with a 4-3 victory over the New York Yankees.
Tampa Bay got out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, as Nelson Cruz, mired in a 5-for-35 stretch without an extra-base hit in his last 11 games, unloaded on a Nestor Cortes Jr. fastball up in the zone and pulled it into the seats in left for his 32nd home run of the year.
New York countered in the bottom of the first inning, when Giancarlo Stanton drove in Gleyber Torres with a two-out base hit of Shane McClanahan after the Yankees shortstop doubled to lead off the inning and moved to third on a wild pitch.
Kevin Kiermaier put the Rays back on top for good in the second, driving in Manuel Margot with a base hit of his own, thoug the inning would come to an end when Francisco Mejia tried to go from first to third on the play.
McClanahan worked the first three innings of Friday night’s game, and after a scoreless inning of relief from Pete Fairbanks, Louis Head (2-0) earned the win with 2 1/3 innings of one-hit ball.
Tampa Bay was able to maintain the 2-1 lead until the ninth, when Mejia and Kiermaier worked one-out walks from Jonathan Loaisiga. Randy Arozarena grounded into a fielder’s choice, erasing Kiermaier, but then stole second base against Domingo German before ranco took a pitch down in the zone and muscled it into center for a two-run single and a 4-1 lead.
Those two runs would end up being crucial, as New York rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth against Andrew Kittredge, but the Rays closer struck out Rougned Odor with the tying and winning runs on base to earn his eighth save.
The victory gives the Rays 99 on the year, and also cuts New York’s lead in the Wild Card race to one game over Boston and two on top of both Toronto and Seattle.
Shane Baz (2-0, 1.69 ERA) will make his final start of the 2021 regular season Saturday afternoong, taking on Jordan Montgomery (6-6, 3.49 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 1:05.
Steve Carney is the founder and publisher of St. Pete Nine. One of the people most associated with baseball coverage in Tampa Bay, he spent 13 seasons covering the Rays for flagship radio station WDAE, first as producer of Rays Radio broadcasts, then as beat reporter beginning in 2011. He likes new analytics and aged bourbon, and is the owner of one of the ugliest knuckleballs ever witnessed by baseball scouts.
